500 teacher posts vacant at OU

500 teacher posts vacant at OU
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Highlights

500 Teacher Posts Vacant at OU, Faculty Vacancy in OU, OU Vice-Chancellor Prof S Satyanarayana. Osmania University, which has been accorded with the University for Potential Excellence by the University Grants Commission (UGC), is facing a faculty crunch. The university which should have 1,200 permanent faculty members has only 700 currently, leaving 500 vacant.

  • University has only 700 faculty in place of 1,200
  • Lack of funds even to pay for the current faculty: VC

Osmania University, which has been accorded with the University for Potential Excellence by the University Grants Commission (UGC), is facing a faculty crunch. The university which should have 1,200 permanent faculty members has only 700 currently, leaving 500 vacant.

Osmania University Vice-chancellor Prof S Satyanarayana admitted that the university is currently facing a shortage of faculty members. Although results for recruitment of assistant professors were announced recently, nearly 500 posts are still vacant. After much dilly-dallying tactics of university officials, the results were announced to recruit 200 odd assistant professors a month ago. Due to pressure from many student organisations and political parties, the results were announced in a phased manner. Even the way the results were announced by the officials has created a fresh controversy. Many of the recruitments are tangled in the High Court, leaving the academics of many students in jeopardy.

The faculty recruitment has taken place after nine years. Even the current faculty recruitment may not be sufficient for the growing strengthen. When asked about how the university plans to overcome this crisis, the VC said, “I have forwarded a letter to the government requesting for further recruitment of faculty. If the government gives the nod, we will have more recruitment in the next academic year.”

Not just a dearth of faculty, the university is also facing a crisis in salary disbursals. “We received fewer funds this year. It is becoming hard for the university to even pay salaries for the current faculty,” said Professor S Satynarayana.

Some departments in Arts College are managing with fewer faculty members. After the demise of Professor Varsha Godbole of Psychology department, the department is left with only one permanent faculty member. Other departments in the Arts College such as Kannada, Arabic, Tamil, Library Science and many other departments have just four teachers. “As of now, the college has 95 faculty members and 15 academic consultants, informed Prof. S Mallesham, Principal, Arts College.

Thanks to the scarcity of faculty in Arts College, Psychology and Linguistics departments have already lost their Centre for Advanced Studies (CAS) and the Communication and Journalism department is on the verge of losing it. “Right now, the department has seven permanent faculty members. In the next two years, two professors will retire and the department will be left with five teachers. This may affect the CAS which was accorded to the department. To run CAS, we require six faculty members as per the criteria. With the retirement of the two professors, the department may lose CAS,” said a senior faculty member from Journalism department.

With the announcement of Telangana, peaceful atmosphere has been restored in the campus and the number students attending the classes has increased manifold. “After many days, the campus is peaceful. Classrooms which wore a deserted look before the announcement now have many students joining the classes,” said Kiran, a student.

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